Installation Qualification

The Installation Qualification process (IQ process) of the PLA 3.0 Validation Package checks the completeness and correctness of the PLA 3.0 installation.

IQ process

The IQ process uses the protected installation reference data delivered by the PLA 3.0 installation and compares it with the PLA 3.0 component files installed in the target environment.

PLA 3.0 IQ process in the target environment
Figure 1. PLA 3.0 IQ process in the target environment

The IQ process checks the following:

  • Are all component files available and located in the correct directories? To check this, the IQ process compares the installed component files with the list of files delivered as part of the installation reference data.

  • Have files been added that are not part of the component file list?

  • Are the component files unchanged? To check this, the IQ process compares the checksum of each installed component file with the checksum specified for this file in the XML file.

Note: Configuration files that can be modified by customers are checked for availability and location only, as their exact content is not known to Stegmann Systems.

Data protection mechanism

During installation, PLA 3.0 copies the following component files to the target system:

  • Installation files required to execute the installation of PLA 3.0. By default, these files are located in the C:\Program Files directory.

  • Program files for installed system components such as databases and database connections, framework properties, and add-ons. By default, these files are located in the C:\ProgramData\ directory.

  • User-specific files holding user-specific settings such as proxy settings and default paths to folders and documents. By default, these files are located in the C:\Users\ folder.

To ensure that component files have not been tampered with, the IQ process utilizes the data protection mechanism shown in the following figure:
Data protection mechanism of the IQ process
Figure 2. Data protection mechanism of the IQ process

  • A hash value is created and assigned as a cryptographic checksum to each component file.

  • An XML file is created with checksums of all component files and their relative paths, and secured by an XML signature.

Note: XML signatures applied by PLA 3.0 follow the recommendations of the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C). The key used for signing the XML file is private and known only to Stegmann Systems.

Certificate of Qualification

If all components are available and the file checksums are verified, the IQ process creates a certificate.

How-to video

The following video shows how you execute the IQ in PLA 3.0: